


The Vineyard

by Amphytryte



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: 1890s, 19th Century, Anxiety, Bisexual Hanschen Rilow, Deaf Character, Deaf Ernst Robel, Deaf West Spring Awakening - Freeform, Fluff, Gay Ernst Robel, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Spring Awakening Dialogue, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amphytryte/pseuds/Amphytryte
Summary: Hanschen Rilow is nervously excited to meet Ernst Röbel in the vineyard. He's even tried his best to learn sign language for the boy. Hopefully he appreciates it.(Or:The vineyard scene, but added dialogue, Hanschen's internal feelings, and Ernst is deaf.)
Relationships: Hanschen Rilow/Ernst Robel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	The Vineyard

**Author's Note:**

> "Spoken text"  
> "(in italics)Signed text"  
> 'Quoted text'  
> '(in italics)Thoughts'

Hanschen walks onto the vineyard, looking at all of the grape-bearing vines. The breeze softly blowing through the plants and through his blonde hair was the only indicator of time passing. He walked further into the vineyard and noticed a head with dark hair. Ernst.

He’d completely stressed at home to make sure his hair was perfect, and his tie was straight. Ernst was always at the vineyard at this time of day, and Hanschen had told him he wanted to talk. Hanschen pulled on his mask to cover his insecurities and walked to Ernst with a smirk.

Ernst was reading through his Latin homework once more. When he finished he grasped at his pocket bible laying next to him in the grass. He read a passage the priest had quoted last Sunday. The passage Ernst was reading, was Leviticus 18. 

‘You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.’ He repeated the quote over and over in his head. What he felt was an _abomination_.

Ernst was pulled out of his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder, he turned around to see Hanschen standing there. He signed something, albeit very choppy.

“ _Do you want me to sign or do you want to lip-read?_ ” Hanschen asked, a questioning smirk on his face.

The brunette was impressed, “ _Do you know sign?_ ” He signed back.

“ _I do._ ” That was partly a lie, he didn’t know a lot of sign language. Anything for this boy, though. “ _My cousin is hard of hearing, so we try it in…_ ” He started fingerspelling, “ _secret._ ” Hanschen paused for a bit, “ _Because it’s…_ ” He didn’t know the sign of this word, “illegal.” He said out loud.

Ernst nodded, “I can lip-read, don’t worry.” He said, he then signed secret and illegal for Hanschen.

When Ernst started slowly going deaf because of an ear infection, he’d tried his best to learn sign, but it was made illegal the year before. He was lucky that he could lip-read at the time.

“Thank God!” Hanschen sat down next to Ernst as he sighed. Ernst looked disapprovingly at the taller who signed a quick “ _Sorry._ ” at him.

The two sat there in silence until the church bells started sounding to tell the town it was seven o'clock (in the evening).

Ernst hadn’t heard the church bells obviously, but Hanschen wanted to talk to him either way. He tapped Ernst on the shoulder, “Those bells… So peaceful.” The younger joked.

The brunette chuckled and played along, “ _I know_ ,” He signed, “Sometimes when I sit in the vineyard in the evening like this, I imagine myself as a country pastor.” Ernst started.

Hanschen managed to keep a chuckle inside, “How so?” He asked, but Ernst didn’t notice.

“With my red-cheeked-” Husband “wife, my library, my degrees…” He continued softly, signing his sentences while he spoke, “Boys and girls, who live nearby, give me their hands when I go walking, and-”

Hanschen tapped Ernst on the shoulder, also stopping Ernst’s ranting, “ _You talk fast._ ” He signed, “ _And…_ You can’t be serious, right?”

“What?” Ernst looked a bit shocked at that. 

‘ _Schei_ _ße_ ’ Shot through Hanschen’s head, ‘ _I shouldn’t have said that._ ’ He paused, ‘ _Let’s just roll with it._ ’

He looked to Ernst now, his expression not showing what was going on in his head, “Really Ernst, you’re such a sentimentalist. The pious, serene faces you see on the clergy, it’s all an act to hide their _envy_ ,” Hanschen signed the word envy to put an emphasis on it and scooted closer, hopefully subtly (he was not), to Ernst.

“Trust me.” Hanschen smiled, “There are only three ways a man can go.”

Ernst started counting on his fingers, looking between Hanschen and his hand.

“He can let the status quo defeat him, like Moritz.” They both flinched at the mention of that name, Hanschen quickly continued, “He can rock the boat, like Melchior, and be expelled.” Hanschen grabbed Ernst’s hand and stopped him from counting, so all attention was on him. “ _Or_ he can bide his time, and let ‘the System’ work for _him_.” He dropped Ernst’s hand, “Like me.” and gestured to himself.

The older was flustered because of his hand being held, but signed, “ _I don’t think I understand._ ”

Hanschen sighed into another one of his smiles, he’d prepared this in his mind already. “Think of the future as a pail of whole milk.” 

Ernst frowned at that, not quite understanding, “A pail of whole milk?” He asked, thinking he misheard.

“A pail of whole _milk_ .” He signed the word milk, so Ernst knew he was right. After Ernst nodded, Hanschen continued, “One man sweats and stirs, to churn it into butter, like… Otto, for example. Another man frets, and spills his milk, and cries all night.” He scooted even closer to Ernst, now having their thigs almost touching. “ _Like Georg_.” Hanschen signed.

There it was, Ernst’s giggle, although he wouldn’t call it that himself. Hanschen smiled at him, admiring him, for a bit before continuing after catching his attention once more.

“But me… Well, I’m like a _pussycat_. I just skim off the cream.”

Ernst looked confused once more, “Skim off the cream? _What do you mean_?”

Hanschen only nodded at Ernst’s question. Then he smiled at his confusion, which broke into a laugh. 

“ _Hanschen? You’re laughing._ What?”

If only he knew.

Hanschen wanted Ernst to not stress out for once. To _enjoy_ life. To follow his dreams, whatever they may be.

To come with him. To like him.

Hanschen was so lost in thought that he kissed Ernst.

“Oh God.” Was all Ernst said.

‘ _Scheiße. Play it off Hanschen. Be cool about it._ ’ Hanschen looked at his lap, “ _I know._ ’ He signed without looking at Ernst. He fiddled around with his hands in his lap, before continuing to sign, occasionally finger spelling words he didn’t know. “ _You know, thirty years from now, tonight will seem unbelievably beautiful._ ”

Ernst pulled Hanschen’s face up by his chin, revealing that both were blushing vividly. “And in the meantime?”

Hanschen looked Ernst in his eyes, “ _Why not?_ ” He couldn’t finish his signing before he was captured in another kiss. The first kiss was just a peck, but this was way deeper. Hanschen felt like he was drowning in the kiss and he _loved_ it.

After about a minute, Ernst pulled away, “On my way here this afternoon, I thought perhaps we would only… talk _sign_.” He explained.

Of course, Hanschen had gone way too far, he shouldn’t have even thought of kissing Ernst, “I’m sorry… Are you sorry we—?“

“No!” Ernst interrupted Hanschen, pulling him closer by the fabric of his vest, “No- I… I love you, Hanschen.” He paused as he glanced at a frozen Hanschen, “ _As I’ve never loved anyone before._ ” Ernst signed, letting the tension on the vest go, but still sliding his fingers over Hanschen’s torso.

“ _And so you should_.” Signed Hanschen, but he mouthed the words along. There was clearly no ill intent in his voice, even if the Ernst couldn’t hear it anymore. It said everything it needed to say. ‘You should love who you love. You shouldn’t be forced into a love.’

Ernst hugged the younger close while the setting sun shone on the vineyard, encasing them in a beautiful orange light that cast long shadows. Hanschen rubbed Ernst across his back and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, letting his act drop. He may act smart and all-knowing most of the time, but here, holding this boy in his arms, he could be himself.

Even if they couldn’t be themselves outside of the vineyard, they knew their feelings for one another.

In the vineyard, they were safe from society’s judgement.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hoped you enjoyed this. I've been wanting to write this ever since I got into the show (Thanks to Ben Fankhauser) and into learning sign language!
> 
> I may or may not have tried to sign everything that has been signed in this chapter, and could sign about 50% of it. I've been learning sign language for about a week or so, so that's pretty cool.


End file.
